7/31/15

It's always fun to go through another box of slides from Betty Schnabel's estate. Her father, Donald G. Schnabel, traveled a lot and took thousands of slides; sometimes Betty traveled with him. In this case it was to England in 1949.

These are all black and white slides. I'll admit to not knowing there ever was such a thing. Their quality is not particularly good, but they do give the feeling of stepping back in time, only four years after the war.

The theme for Sepia Saturday this week is hotels. Below I give you a hotel. This is the Welcombe Inn located near Stratford-upon-Avon. This shot certainly doesn't make the place look particularly interesting, but click on this link and you'll be impressed.

Click on images to see them larger.

Betty and Donald visited Shakespeare's home while in Stratford-upon-Avon. Two chatty ladies with a pram would have never imagined they'd one day be shown to people around the world.

And here we have some folks considering a tour of Shakespeare's home. Looks like one of them wants to first lean in and see if it's worth it.

Betty and Donald also visited Kenilworth Castle. The second shot is labeled "Stables Kenilworth Castle 1949." Personally I think I could live quite nicely in the stables.

The strange thing about all of Donald's slides is that his wife, Louise, never seems to be in any of them. She died in 1972. Occasionally there are shots of his son, Donald Jr, who died this past year. Betty traveled with her father on several trips. Now, since I only have slides from Betty's estate I have no way of knowing what photographs her brother had or what became of them. He lived in Florida, Betty in California. The family images are doomed to never be together.

So I'll leave you with Betty in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1949. I can't decide if that's a feather in a hat or some strands of hair blown straight up. It doesn't help to see the photo larger. You can decide for yourself. Betty does not appear to be enjoying herself.

To see more photos taken by Betty's father click on his or her name in the links below.

7/24/15

This post will be a disjointed two parter. The first part about summer and my contribution to Sepia Saturday this week.

This summer is dry and hot. Well, it's not hot every day, but quite a few. But recently we've also been getting humidity. That's not something that Northern Californian's are used to. We don't do humid very well. We complain a lot. Just make sure when you're complaining that you're not talking to someone from New York. They roll their eyes and have no sympathy for those of us melting in, what to them, seems incredibly dry and wonderful.

But it's summer and that should mean a trip to the coast. On the east coast they'd say they were going to the shore. Same country, two different worlds.

Though this snapshot was taken in 1953 it could just as easily be today.

Click on image to see it larger. Sure, the guy with the belly would probably be wearing a speedo and the woman eating whatever it is she's eating might be dressed in a thong bikini. Makes one shudder, doesn't it? Still, it's a day at the beach. As a child I spent a lot of time at beaches. These days very rarely.

The second snapshot should bring back memories of lemonade stands.

Click on image to see it larger.

Ever have your own stand? I did it a couple times as a kid. It was fun, but the vision of making a fortune soon dried up as I sat in my chair waiting for the next customer. What's especially interesting about this snapshot is the corporate angle. This was a cardboard stand you could buy from the Pillsbury company to sell Funny Face drinks. Basically it was like Kool-Aid, but with some names that got Pillsbury in trouble.

In 1964, Pillsbury introduced Funny Face Drink Mix with the names Goofy Grape, Rootin' Tootin' Raspberry, Freckle Face Strawberry, Loud Mouth Lime, Chinese Cherry (later Choo-Choo Cherry), and Injun Orange (later Jolly Olly Orange). Lefty Lemon followed in 1965, along with other flavors. The Funny Face characters, as well as the Funny Face brand were created in 1963 by Hal Silverman, a Creative Director at Campbell Mithun Advertising. When cyclamate was banned, Sweet* 10 and Funny Face had to be dropped, resulting in a $4.5 million loss. Both products were re-introduced after changes, and the drinks became available sweetened and unsweetened. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

Want one of these stands? There's one for sale on etsy. I've seen a few in the past on ebay. They're always expensive.

Now the second part of my post is something I wanted to post weeks ago when the theme was group photos.

This is my dad's squadron crew, VP-42, taken in 1950 in Iwokuni, Japan.

Click on image to see it larger.

I'm betting that all of these fellas, other than my dad, are dead. My dad was in his twenties when this shot was taken during the Korean war. My dad also served in World War II. There are fewer and fewer veterans alive who served in that war. If you know any who were you might want to tell them about Honor Flights.

Earlier this year I was able to get my dad on an Honor Flight. Memories were made that he'll never forget. He was flown from California with 50+ other veterans, male and female, who served in WWII and Korea, to Washington, D.C. to see the monuments built to recognize their service. It didn't cost any of the veterans a penny. Everything is paid for by contributions: airfare, lodging, food, ground transportation. In the three days my dad was gone all he bought were two beers. He had a wonderful time.

First on the list to be accepted for one of these flights are WWII vets and vets with health issues whose time is running out. Korean vets are also chosen. Eventually they will be honoring Vietnam vets. But it's the WWII vets they are most wanting to take on these trips. The following is from their website:

We fly veterans to Washington DC to visit memorials built to honor their service to the nation.

Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for all their sacrifices. We transport our heroes to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at their memorials. Top priority is given to the senior veterans – World War II survivors, along with those other veterans who may be terminally ill.

Of all of the wars in recent memory, it was World War II that truly threatened our very existence as a nation—and as a culturally diverse, free society. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, an estimated 640 WWII veterans die each day. Our time to express our thanks to these brave men and women is running out. (SOURCE: Honor Flight)

If you think you might know someone interested in this you can find out about the organization at honorflight.org. There you will also find links to all of the hubs around the US where flights originate. I've spoken to several vets who've been on one of these journeys and each of them has expressed how much it meant to them and what an emotional experience it was.

If a family member served this country and you think they might enjoy this tell them about it, print out the submission paperwork, and send them on an emotional journey to their youth.
__________________

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Tattered and Lost: Buckaroos and Buckarettes is a collection of vintage snapshots for those who remember riding the range when they were kids. These adventures usually consisted of sitting in front of a black and white television or running around the neighborhood with our shiny six-guns strapped to our sides. Our imaginations created entire worlds that never existed. We sang along with our heroes, convinced that with a song in our heart and a six-gun on our hip we could vanquish evil. This book is dedicated to all the other buckaroos and buckarettes who rode their imaginations into the sunset while humming Happy Trails. Buy it at Amazon.

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Collecting vintage photographs starts out innocent enough with a few snapshots here and there, but at some point it becomes a bit more obsessive and you find yourself longing for the next image that makes you laugh or ponder the irrefutable confusion of being human. This book, Tattered and Lost: Cakes, Picnics, and Watermelon, the fourth in a series, shows the quirky world of sharing food from the 1890s to the 1970s in the United States. Sit back and enjoy watching people cut cakes (some people do it with such style!), go on picnics without your relatives, and watch people eat watermelon. Yes, eat watermelon. An odd category for sure, but one sure to make you smile. Buy it at Amazon.

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Tattered and Lost: Vernacular Photographs, is volume 1 in my self-published books showing photos from my collection. Photographs play off each other on facing pages asking the viewer to come to their own conclusion as to what they are looking at. Included is a photo of the Pennsylvania Railroad S1 steam locomotive, designed by Raymond Loewy, on display at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. And one of the few known copies of a photo taken by Rudolph D’Heureuse in 1863 proving there were indeed camels used by the U. S. Cavalry is included. So take a step back in time and visit with some folks who long ago smiled and said “cheese” never knowing how long those smiles would last. Buy it at Amazon.

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What is Tattered and Lost?

Tattered and Lost is about some of the found and/or vernacular photography in my collection.

Unless you're an incredibly organized person you probably have a few stray photos tucked away that you've forgotten about. No matter how many family members or friends say they love you, sooner or later, a photo of you is going to slip through the cracks and end up in the hands of someone who knows nothing about you. Such are the photos at this site.

THE PHOTOS

Photographs of the ordinary by the ordinary.
All photos are from my private collection. They may NOT be used in any manner without my permission. I retain all copyrights for everything published on this site unless specified as belonging to someone else.